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  1. Home
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  3. Segregation by Design
  • Cited by 284
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
November 2018
Print publication year:
2018
Online ISBN:
9781108555722
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108555722
Subjects:
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Area Studies, American Studies, American Government, Politics and Policy, Politics and International Relations, Sociology
Information

Book description

Segregation by Design draws on more than 100 years of quantitative and qualitative data from thousands of American cities to explore how local governments generate race and class segregation. Starting in the early twentieth century, cities have used their power of land use control to determine the location and availability of housing, amenities (such as parks), and negative land uses (such as garbage dumps). The result has been segregation - first within cities and more recently between them. Documenting changing patterns of segregation and their political mechanisms, Trounstine argues that city governments have pursued these policies to enhance the wealth and resources of white property owners at the expense of people of color and the poor. Contrary to leading theories of urban politics, local democracy has not functioned to represent all residents. The result is unequal access to fundamental local services - from schools, to safe neighborhoods, to clean water.

Awards

Co-Winner, 2019 J. David Greenstone Book Award, Politics and History Section, American Political Science Association

Winner, 2020 Best Book in the Field of Urban Affairs, Urban Affairs Association

Reviews

‘This is a terrific and timely book. Trounstine analyzes one of the pillars of structural racism and how it was built cumulatively to become something that on the surface looks like the workings of a color-free market. While big outcomes seldom derive solely from a single factor, Trounstine does a superb job of placing the political dominance of white homeownership in a long and consequential directory.'

Clarence Stone - Research Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, The George Washington University

‘Segregation by Design is one of the best books on urban politics in years. Trounstine takes on fundamental issues of segregation and inequality across cities and shows how policies meant to guarantee equal access to public services have often had perverse consequences. The book is beautifully written, erudite, and interesting on virtually every page. We need more books like this.'

Christopher Berry - William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor, University of Chicago

‘Trounstine's effective use of primary and secondary historical evidence and a wide range of quantitative data and methods results in a convincing argument about the role of local government actors in generating residential segregation. This book is a compelling and important contribution to the large literature on the causes and consequences of geographic segregation in the US.'

Elisabeth R. Gerber - Jack L. Walker, Jr Professor of Public Policy, Associate Dean, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

‘Trounstine fills an enormous hole in our understanding of how segregation evolved in the United States.'

J. Eric Oliver - University of Chicago

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